Intermittent Fasting & Blood Glucose – Episode 184

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Topics:

1. [5:39] Intermittent Fasting And Morning Glucose Level
2. [11:58] Sleeping After Exercise At Night
3. [18:33] Tips For A UPS Driver
4. [29:09] Addison’s Disease And Shift Work
5. [36:23 ] Lactose In Now Foods Super Enzymes
6. [40:27] Probiotics For Babies
7. [44:27] Strength Training While Nursing
8. [46:26] Spinning Affecting Strength Gains
9. [51:27] Finding Pants For Big Legs And Small Waist

 Questions:

1. Intermittent fasting driving up my fasting blood sugar

Erik says:
I’ve been paleo for 5 years and a 100% compliant. A year ago I switched to the Lean Gains protocol with only paleo foods. I went from 15% bf to maintaining -8% bf  year round with no effort, this is validated through hydrostatic bf testing. As you can see I’m extremely lean and I hold a lot of muscle mass but my only worry is my fasting blood glucose level. I keep track of my blood glucose and what I have started to notice is my fasting BG has started to move up with no change in diet. Should I be worried?

My average morning fast glucose level is 100-110 and this will some times get up to 124 through out the morning. Once I eat it falls to high 80’s to high 90’s. On work out days my blood glucose post work our is high 70’s to low 80’s.

What should I do? Should I abandon the IF and eat breakfast?  I thought IF is suppose to make you insulin sensitive and not resistant. I would love your input as this is worrying me.
My eating schedule is as follows

Workout days (3 days per wk): Cals 3200 Macros P 350g~, F 50g~, C 200g~

-first meal 12pm~lean cuts of meat, 1lb veggies

-second meal 7-8pm lean cuts of meat, 1lb veggies, 1.5 lbs sweet potato

Non workout days: Cals 2100 Macros P 275g~, F 100g~, C 30g~

-first meal 12pm~100g pro (fattier cuts of meat), 1lb of veggies

-second meal 7-8pm 100g pro (fattier cuts of meat), 1lb of veggies

When fasting, you MUST be sure to get enough electrolytes. Why? How? Click here for more information on electrolytes and fasting…

2. Sleep After Excercise

Pink Frankenstein says:
Hi Robb and Greg

One of the things that going Paleo has done for me is that at age 48 I’m playing Ultimate Frisbee like I’m 28. Serious speed and not so sore afterward benefits.

Awesome.

The problem I’m having is getting some good sleep after playing.

I usually play at night in various pick-up and league games since it’s an after work kinda thing. This means stopping play at either 8pm or 10 pm.

As a result, I find it difficult to go to sleep and stay asleep later that night. So I end up staying up later than I like and getting sketchy, twitchy sleep.

Are there things that I can do to combat this phenomena either through drugs, food or supplements or some other means like, I don’t know, stretching? Do I need to concentrate on a cool down?

In case you don’t know the physicality of Ultimate is similar to soccer, lots of sprints and running.

The podcast is a great resource and actually entertaining.

Thanks!

3. UPS Driver

Jay says:
You guys are great!

I’ve finally caught up to all of your episodes.  Thank you so much for your time and solid work.  I’ve been slowly trying to get my diet close to perfect paleo, but I still crack on pizza and beer from time to time.  (ok beer daily)

As a UPS driver in Phoenix; my job consists of doing 160-185 stops per day carrying packages anywhere from 1 to 150 lbs.  I’m  6’0ft  175lbs, athletic build.  I never feel too exhausted toward the end of the day, but am still looking to optimize my diet and energy with your expertise.

Keeping in mind the 110 degree summer heat with NO AIR CONDITIONING (a grilled steak doesn’t exactly sit well in the gut during the Phoenix summer heat)

What are some of the most Ideal foods for all day sustained energy?  I currently eat about 30 grams of protein every morning through bacon and eggs.

Throughout the day I drink tons of water and snack on raw broccoli and celery, taking sips of coconut oil and handfuls of almonds, another 30 grams of protein from beef jerky, and finish off the afternoon with  1 banana.

Then at dinner I usually get “not so paleo” and have another 1500-2500 calories

Also,  what work outs would help my work performance?? I currently box and do muay thai 2-3 times per week, but have been feeling  a little to worn down from these intense workouts.  Maybe looking for something a little less intense.

What are some of the injuries or problems I should keep a close watch for that might be related to this type of work?

Lastly (sorry for the length, please don’t hate me) does ZMA have any benefits??  I’ve noticed some deeper dreams and better sleep… I think.

Thanks Guys,

Jay

P.s Just think you will be doing the world a service, when I pass the word on to all the other drivers, everyone will get their packages quicker from all the healthy and energy charged drivers…

4. paleo and Addison’s disease/shift work

D. W. Bassett says:
Hi Robb and/or staff,

Bought your book and enjoying it so far.  This is a question about how paleo might affect Addison’s disease.   Basically my adrenal glands  are raisins and have been for many years. They produce nothing.   I suspect auto immune was the cause as I’ve had off and on bizarre things happening to my health all my life. These things come and (usually) go.  about 10 years ago my strange symptoms got so bad i began to search out an answer for what was going on (since the Docs were mystified and just wanted to throw pills at me) which was basically occasional small seizures of unknown origin and horrid digestive problems.  During a seizure i could not even keep to my feet but had to drop into a squat, and belch and belch and belch.  Great for socializing!  After i tried a good probiotic the seizures went away, but i still felt pretty lousy a lot of the time.

Then i stumbled upon The Paleo Diet by Cordain.  The ideas in the book made perfect sense to me and my health and vitality improved greatly over time.  I sort of drifted off course over the last few years, eating all sorts of bad things, especially while on the road.  But I am back to the Paleo way now.

I am a Locomotive Engineer on call 24/7.  Not even shift work, just get called for a train whenever it shows up.  One day it’ll be noon, the next at 2 am, then 3pm and so on.  Once in a while you get caught short with no sleep when one shows up that is not on the lineup for whatever reason and you can be awake for 30-35 hours straight.  I do have ridging in my nails even though i am eating pale again so I’m really interested in your ideas about hypo acidity in shift workers.  This is probably not the best  job for someone with Addison’s to have, but i have stood the Gaff so far for 19 years.

Of course I have to take a cortisol steroid as replacement therapy for missing adrenaline and am currently mucking about my bloodstream with my endocrine Doc to see if i can get rid of my mineral corticoid, (replacement for missing aldosterone) which we think is giving me high blood pressure.  Anyhow obviously an unhealthy lifestyle, which i try to manage as best i can.  Interested in your thoughts since you know so much about Biochemistry. I bet I’m the only Addisonian who ever contacted you.  Just interested in your thoughts if you can spare the time.  Thank you for what you are doing with your work. It’s helping a lot of people.

 

5. Lactose in Now Foods Super Enzymes.

Rebekka says:
Hi! I recently discovered your amazing podcasts (have listened to about 50 of the first episodes, plus the new ones that come out once a week) So I’m sorry if this has been covered before!

First question: I ordered the Now Foods Super Enzymes (capsules) from amazon UK because they have been warmly recommended by both you and the Whole9. When I received them this was written on the label, below the Other ingerdients list: “Contains sulfites. May contain lactose (milk) as a processing aid.”

I emailed the company regarding this, because I am pretty sure I have a lactose intolerance (used to get 7 month pregnant- bloated after drinking a small latte) and I also have psoriasis – so I’m completely avoiding dairy. This was their reply: “It is a tiny amount of lactose used as a processing aid for the Pancreatin and the sulfites come natural as part of the Pineapple.
Both are small and well tolerated by most but your concerns would indicate that a milk and sulfite free formula such as the following would be a better choice:

http://www.nowfoods.com/Supplements/Products-by-Category/Digestive-Support/Enzymes/077804.htm”

Checking out the label on those vegan enzymes, I could see that they don’t contain Betaine HCl, nor pepsin or papain – but added lactase and a bunch of other enzymes not included in the Super Enzymes. So I replied that this blend would work better for vegans rather than paleo-folks, (why would I need lactase when I don’t consume any dairy?) and they said I could try their Betaine HCl with pepsin capsules instead.

Do you think I should avoid the Super Enzymes because of the lactose? And if so should I buy their HCl + pepsin capsules, plus separate supplements to add in bromelain and papain? (would become 3 bottles of supplements in total..) Or could you recommend any other broad spectrum enzymes that are lactose free?

*Just a quick update, got another reply from Now Foods after asking why the milk and sulfites aren’t listed on their website:

“Hello,

That is older information. We’ll get this over and update that. Thanks for catching it.”

So seems like they’ll be changing the info on the label in the US as well.

6. Probiotics for babies

Rachele says:
I wanted to check your thoughts on probiotics for babies and if you gave you darling girl any? We have a 6 week girl and she had to be on antibiotics in hospital for a few days when born ( we did not want this, but hard to argue when doctors are pushing it and scaring us on what ifs if we didnt get her on them). We eat paleo about 80% strict and are gluten free 100% and dairy free about 90% if any of that matters 🙂 dairy is just some hard cheese and Greek yogurt on occasion. We do baby vitamin d drops too. Just wondering “what would Robb do” as always and couldn’t find anything on it when I looked online. Thanks is advance and hope you are all well and enjoying spring!

 

7. Getting my swole on while nursing

Lindsay says:
Hi Robb and Greg,

I’ve read that nursing can (perhaps counterintuitively?) be a good time for strength training since a woman’s body is producing a lot of some kind of growth hormone for the breast milk.  Some disagree, saying that other hormones produced during this time negatively impact training.  Do you have any thoughts, assuming adequate sleep and nutrition—granted, a big assumption after the arrival of a baby.  Thanks, and thanks for the podcast!

8. Spinning

Leslie says:
Hi Robb,

For the last 2.5 months I’ve been eating a grain free, dairy free, legume free diet. I do still drink black coffee and tea and on rare occasion have a glass of red wine. I eat at least 3 meals a day which include protein, vegetable/sweet potato and healthy fat however when I snack I don’t alway have protein and usually stick to fruit and almonds.

I’ve been working out on my own regularly at the gym for at least 6 months. I take 2 spin classes a week and I also do machine weights 2 to 3 days a week.

My fiancé works out at a crossfit gym where they do Olympic lifts and metcons and he recently set up a gym in the garage so I asked him if he could start training me. I told him my goal is to become stronger and he says I should not be taking spin 2 times a week if I want to become stronger and crossfit train. Is this true? Do you think I need to eliminate spin to become stronger? He thinks I need to eliminate my 45 minute spin classes and start crossfit football….

He claims he knows exactly what your response is going to be…he’s very certain that you will agree with him because he “listens to enough podcasts”.

I’m not sure if this matter but I am lean…I’m not working out or taking spin to lose weight. I’m 5’9″ and weigh 130lbs (32 yrs old). I’ve notice that over several months I have put on a little muscle weight and lost some of  the little fat I did have and I know I’ve become more toned over time. I also want to add that I feel fantastic after my spin class…I really enjoy it but I’m willing to eliminate it if necessary.

Thanks in advance and I hope to hear from you.

9. Paleo Booty

Ear 13 & Ear 14 says:
Robb & Greg,

I have been following your nutritional and fitness suggestions for a few years; thanks for all the information you put out there.  My background is as a competitive Water Polo player and Swimmer.  I’ve always had big gluts, thighs, shoulders, and a well developed V shaped body, which all make it pretty tough to find fitting clothes.  I am able to find the occasional shirt that fits my body shape, but I’m completely stumped when it comes to pants.

Here’s what happens.  If a pair of pants fits my waist, they end up being extremely tight through the upper legs and groin.  Any pants that fit comfortably through the upper legs are extremely loose at the waist and/or in the lower leg.  I’ve gone to premium stores like Nordstroms, and various jean company outlets, and none of the products they offer seem to fit me.  The salesmen literally don’t know where to start.  Having the waist taken in a few inches makes them fit, but they look really funny because of how it changes the wear pattern and pulls the pockets relatively more towards the side of the pants (by removing fabric from the side seams).

I’ve lost a bunch of weight and improved body comp following your advice.. but it comes at the cost of not looking so great in a pair of jeans.  Since I injured my knee last fall and was only able to do RDLs and SLDLs for 6 months, things got worse.  What’s a single guy to do?  Any fashion advice or other ideas are appreciated.

Regards,

Your 7th listener.

Greg Everett

Greg Everett is co-host of The Paleo Solution podcast. He is the owner of Catalyst Athletics and co-founder of The Performance Menu. He was a competitive weightlifter under renowned coach Mike Burgener, and is the author of "the best book available on Olympic weightlifting": Olympic Weightlifting: A Complete Guide for Athletes & Coaches and Olympic Weightlifting for Sports